The American Way of Life

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America is “considered” to be a land of opportunities, promises, independence, hope, and freedom. Anyone can grow up to be the President of the United States, member of Congress, or even become wealthy. This is possible because all it takes hard work. However, this is nearly “just a dream” because equality doesn’t exist among everyone. The poor have little to no chance to get richer, while the rich remain rich. As President Woodrow Wilson once said in his New Freedom campaign, “American enterprise is not free; the man with only a little capital is finding it harder and harder to get into the field, more and more impossible to compete with the big fellow. Why? Because the laws of this country do not prevent the strong from crushing the weak.” America is often considered as the “best country” in the world, but behind this façade, many people struggle daily to earn enough money to survive. These intriguing ideas are shown in the “great American novel,” The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The novel is the “great American novel” because it depicts the true nature of the American way of life; a way of life rampant with laissez-faire capitalism and constant struggle.

The American way of life is defined as an expression that refers to the lifestyle of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. It refers to a nationalist ethos that purports to adhere to principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” according to Babylon.com. America has been associated with notion of a land of endless opportunities and freedom. To some degree this is true. For example, people are able to pursue their dreams of being an athlete, doctor, teacher, acto...

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...destroys lives.

In conclusion, John Steinbeck’s “great American novel,” The Grapes of Wrath, illustrates the true nature of the American way of life; a way of life that is controlled by the laissez-faire capitalism and constant struggles. The Joad family along with many other migrant workers faced the daunting task of overcoming the repression from corporations. Through all the hardships such as owners burning their food and watching people die of starvation in order to create supply and demand, the migrant workers still had dreams that California would be the “land of opportunities” that offered high wages, jobs, and start of a new life. The American Dream is always in the minds of people. A person can never know truly when the American Dream is fully achieved because once a person owns something it causes a person to want more and more because of ownership.

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